First Outer World Story Series: The Black Mist that Devours - Chapter 134
Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter
(??? POV)
“Here is the ‘White Mist and Black Swamp Forest’…”
Before me lay the entrance to the labyrinth “White Mist and Black Swamp Forest,” and while people sporting a wide range of equipment entered the dungeon in high spirits, those who had escaped and were crawling back were being treated for whatever may have befallen them inside.
And when I also tried to enter the labyrinth…
“No way, kid. We can’t let a youngster like you in, no matter how welcoming the ‘White Mist and Black Swamp Forest’ is to everyone.”
…I was kicked out.
I was then taken to the central square of the city near the labyrinth, where various stalls were opened and bustling with activity.
“So why was a little boy like you attempting to enter the dungeon?”
The inquiry was posed by the uncle, who was clothed in a black hood and black garments with a short sword and a candela-like object around his waist.
Although I debated whether or not to disclose the truth, I had arrived here after leaving the village without notifying anybody and with no money or possessions. Therefore, I settled on sharing my circumstance with him.
“I see… you came here because you wanted to meet the girl you saw in the sham battle between the Demon Kings four years ago once more.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“What!?”
The uncle delivered this remark without hesitation after hearing my story.
“I was present during that time too, so I can assure you that the girl you saw is one of the Mist King’s kin. She is one of the Kirijin.”
“A kin?”
“They are the ones who were transformed from human to demon by the hand of the Demon King and swear absolute allegiance to their master. That’s the Demon King’s kin. Even though the Demon King’s kin in this country is relatively cordial, the day you encounter them in the dungeon is the day both parties will undoubtedly fight to the death. Even if you meet them, the only thing that will ensue is a battle.”
“…”
The uncle’s words penetrated my heart mercilessly.
But I…
“You’re not going to give up? If that’s the case, return after you’ve grown a bit bigger and stronger. After that, you’ll be able to fight the Demon King and free that girl from his clutches.”
“Eh…?”
“But if that girl is loyal to the Demon King from the bottom of her heart, she’ll probably resent you,” the uncle laughed as he rose to his feet.
His eyes, on the other hand, were not smizing and were fixed on a corner of the plaza.
“Even so… Why is this guy showing up on my long-awaited day off? That guy’s got a nasty personality.”
I, too, cast my sight in the same direction as the uncle.
What I found there was a man in heavy armor carrying a huge sword on his back.
“??????”
Yet all of a sudden, that man began to moan and suffer.
People in the area panic as they rushed to approach him, only to discover that a surreal barrier had been erected around him, preventing anyone from moving forward.
“Now, this is a hassle, but under the circumstances, I suppose I’ll have to intervene.”
The uncle entered the place as if the barrier didn’t exist.
“Kuazwsedcrfvtgb!!”
The guy then let out a strange howl, and his body expanded and deformed, with horn-like objects sprouting from every part of his body before shrinking back to their former size as the uncle breached the barrier.
His appearance had remained relatively unchanged. He had only grown a few horns and his color had been reversed. However, the power that shrouded his body was unlike that of earlier, and despite there being a barrier between us that should keep me safe, my whole body was quivering.
Nevertheless, the uncle acted as if the enormous force he was confronted with was insignificant, and said in a manner that even the surrounding people can hear.
“Come on, you ‘beast of disaster’. I’ll deal with you myself.”
————–
“What the hell is that guy…”
“How high is his level…”
An unearthly battle between the uncle and the beast of disaster was taking place right in front of my eyes.
A sudden explosion erupted at the feet of the beast, simultaneously with which the uncle pulled out a pitch-black sword from his waist and slashed at the beast. The beast of disaster, on the other hand, rushed to the side to avoid the explosion and gripped the great sword on its back with both hands to cleave him with it.
Slightly stunned by the counterattack, the uncle jumped up to evade the cleave with only the force of his toes, and after muttering something quickly, a spear composed of water was conjured up in his left hand and hurled at the beast.
Although the beast of disaster suffered the strike, it staggered a little and launched horns from its body at the uncle who was still in mid-air.
The uncle repelled the horns by putting up a kind of barrier, and as soon as he landed on the ground, a pillar of black liquid ejected from under the beast’s feet as if in retaliation for the attack, thereby propelling the beast up into the air.
But the beast of disaster also suppressed the impact by leveraging its great sword and armor and sent a mass of horns flying in the air to halt the uncle’s movement thus preventing him from pursuing further strikes.
After that, both the uncle and the disaster beast re-adjusted their weapons at a distance.
All of this happened within a span of a dozen seconds, and this degree of exchange had already taken place several times in front of our eyes.
“As expected, you’re strong. Is it because you were once a high-ranking adventurer?”
“Pl, okminuhb…”
But while the uncle still seemed to have plenty of time to spare, the beast of disaster was already drained.
The beast of disaster. It was a general term for individuals who have been metamorphosed from people into monsters by ?Disaster Curse?. By nature, even if they were mere humans, these beings would be far stronger than the Demon King’s kin.
Their presence, in my opinion, was nothing but a source of despair. On the contrary, the majority of those here would be driven to flee from this existence. But why did the uncle…
“Well, whatever. Let’s just get this over with,” the uncle mutters something.
“!?”
And in the ensuing moment, the uncle had teleported directly in front of the beast of disaster and was swinging his sword at it.
Nobody present could discern what had happened between the two, and it was only after the beast was split in half from the top of its head that everyone recognized that the beast had been slashed.
There was a moment of stupor, which was followed by cheers.
“Thank you?”
The uncle responded to the cheers while approaching me.
And then, when he was near me,
“Well, I don’t want to be conspicuous, so please excuse me.”
Saying this, he simultaneously generated a voluminous mist, grabbed me by the neck, and took me somewhere.
————–
“Hah, I’ll be scolded later for sure. Well, forget it. Hey, kid.”
“Y-Yes! What is it!?”
When I recalled the battle that occurred earlier, I involuntarily straightened my posture.
“Don’t make that face. I just have a question to ask you.”
“?”
“What is your skill?”
My skill? I believe it is ?One-handed Sword Proficiency ??. It was because I acquired this skill a few weeks ago that I had come all the way out here.
After mentioning it, the uncle then,
“Yeah. This is an ideal opportunity.”
“Ah, wah!”
He then put his hand on the sword on his waist. The sword with the pitch-black handle and edge, with which he had previously slaughtered the beast of disaster, was thrown to me, and I caught it swiftly.
“Take that. If you can attain your dream, then show me your results.”
My head was awash with consternation.
The sword’s handle and edge were both black, and it was evidently made of a metal that an ordinary person like me would have no connection to getting this thing for the rest of my life. In fact, the sword weighed far less than it looked as though it were air.
But why would the uncle offer me such a valuable thing like this?
“Well, I am a very casual person. It doesn’t make any difference to me whether I have it or not.”
With these words, the uncle started to walk away.
It was at this point that I realized that even his name was unknown to me, so I asked him his name as he walked away.
“Me? My name is Kurokiri, the sorcerer. Take that sword and come to me someday. I’ll always be waiting for you.”
He faded away into the mist after that.
On that day, I set a second goal for myself. That was, until the day I met Kurokiri again, I must thrive myself to be worthy of this sword.
From then on, I had spent my days’ training to achieve my two goals.